Norway, – Converting my travel images to textile art. How do you do it?

Capture and Create

I have the best job in the world. It allows me to travel quite a bit and one of the trips I took a few years ago was a cruise to Norway from Southampton England and teaching as I traveled.

Cruising and teaching is pure luxury.

Instead of being housed in a static hotel room, I get these amazing views and vistas. As an artist, I see images just a little differently and its pure magic being able to capture them on film to use in my textile art work at a later date.

Its was a funny trip,

I heard someone ask the staff at the front desk morning, “What time is the 1:00 o’clock tour?” The staff politely said 1:00 o’clock madam!!!!

Yesterday I heard someone in the lift say that they had a porthole cabin because they always need to see the port and someone asked how high we are above sea level in the Fjord!!!

Someone mentioned this a breakfast. “does the ship have its own power generator?” to which the cruise director answered, no, we stretch an extra long extension cord from London to all the ports.”

That’s not including the people who don’t want an outside cabin because it’s too cold outside.!!!!

Sigh.

To be honest its was really interesting. The majority of people on board were English, so the cafe and the pub were always busy, I guess it’s the pub culture in Britain. It’s lovely to see everyone out enjoying themselves.

The view from my cabin at 10.00 pm at night. I was able to make the most of the days.

My Husband Keith will tell you I’m not a good follower being in a tour, or a group walk around because I wander off and don’t pay attention, (I almost got jailed in Russia on a tour to the kremlin) I’m too busy taking photos or exploring something else. However, I did give in and go on a bus ride in one of the ports, It was too cold to walk around. I even put those little white ear pieces in my ear and I took them with me when I left so they can’t recycle them. The thought of someone else using them before me fills me with dread.

It was an interesting ride, but I can’t take photos out the window so I threw caution to the wind and decided on a walk round, my hands went blue and I thought I might drop the camera.

The streets are narrow and some are cobblestone. The majority of the buildings are white wooden structures however, one street showed a burst of color and I graduated to that.

I didn’t find info on the Viking ships that I so desperately wanted. The only Viking museum was expensive and touristy. But the buildings were fascinating, a little different to the other towns we’ve been in, it’s so neat its like a movie set.

The buildings were an inspiration for illustration.

However, I choose to add my own whimsical view to reality.

The image above was drawn in my sketchbook and I only recently imported the image into my iPad pro and with the app ‘Pigment’ I colored it and I’m going to print it on fabric.

As I travel, I audition, and change the images in the computer and it is all prepared for creating something special when I return to my studio.

This drawing was inspired by the images below as we sailed through the fiords. I take photos because I’m an avid photographer and because I have an urge to capture all I see, but I also take the images with a view to transferring them to fabric in one way or another.

Color, composition and sheer beauty.

Mr Jim West, thank you for the opportunity of teaching and traveling with you.

Your hands went blue and you thought you might drop the camera? I’m sniggering into my tea as I read, because it’s obviously summer on your photos. You need a longer stay, so you get used to the temperatures. Says the Norwegian. 😊